Red and Yellow
by Kacaw
Summary: An Orphan with a dream to be strong and the talent to do so. The mark which he sets his sights on to achieve flowing crimson.


**Red and Yellow Chapter 1:**

 _Konohagakure_

Stalls lined the streets, lanterns hanging on overhead banners; everybody was out exploring the festivities the event had to offer. A popular stall among the children was selling Kabuki masks, different animals, demons, masks of myths and legends. The Fourth Hokage of Konoha's legacy, Namikaze Naruko, was one of many festival goers and found herself in said store. A cursory glance at the remaining masks and she wasn't surprised at what was there. Nearly all the Maneki Neko masks had been sold out, whether it was because of the familiar sight or the supposed luck involved with them. Masks such as Inu and Tora had sold a fair amount whilst one of the other animal masks remained largely untouched, that of the Kitsune. Perhaps people believed it was a bad omen to wear one given the day, Naruko though wasn't one for superstitions. A small smirk was given before she reached forward to grab one, only for her hand to come in contact with another. She glanced to her right as the hand shot back in alarm, a small blonde haired boy staring at her. She knew this boy… well to be more accurate, _of_ him. That he was reaching for a fox mask was…

"Ah, sorry." Naruko offered awkwardly before taking a mask and moving towards the merchant.

The boy frowned before grabbing one and following her to pay for his own.

"How's it going kid?" The tall bearded man asked as he noticed her approach.

"I'm fine Jiban-san, and you?" She replied curtly, handing him the Kitsune mask. He chose to ignore her question as he snorted noticing her choice in face covering.

"The Kitsune mask huh? I think that's the first one I've sold all night. I'm losing money on these things…" He groused.

The girl smirked in reply, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, I just happen to like foxes." The boy waiting behind her shifted minutely.

"Heh, whatever you say. That's fifty ryo kid."

Naruko handed him the money before taking the mask and leaving. As she exited the stall she overheard Jiban.

"Oh? Another Kitsune mask, maybe these will sell after all."

Eight years ago the village was attacked by Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Nine Tailed Demon Fox. No one knew why the Fox attacked or even where it came from. The population along with the village were crippled, losing half of its military strength in a mere hour as well as a large portion of buildings being flattened. The most notable loss that day which would go down in history was the death of Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. In a show of heroism he gave his life to defeat the Fox and saved Konoha from complete annihilation. As with the previous Hokage, his face adorned the cliff side overhanging the village. Though a largely unknown truth, the fox still remained alive. It was sealed away in a container where it could do no harm to the outside world…inside a young boy. This boy's name was Naruto.

 **123456**

The scarlet haired girl admired the Kitsune mask in her hands as she wandered her way through the crowd. Unbeknownst to her, someone observed her inattentiveness and decided to take advantage of it. As the girl focused on the mask in her hands, she walked right into a certain silver haired shinobi. Catching the mask that had been sent flying out of Naruko's hand, the elder man held the girls shoulder to keep her balance.

"Ma, you should pay more attention to where you're going Naruko." He chided whilst examining the Kabuki mask in his hand. He seemed to pause as he took note of her selection. "You're out by yourself?" Kakashi already knew the answer to the question; he just liked pushing her buttons.

Used to his antics Naruko tried to snatch her mask back only for him to seemingly scratch the back of his head, moving his hand and by proxy the mask out of her reach. He raised an eyebrow in question, as if ignorant to her plight.

"Yes, I am a genin after all Kakashi, I can take care of myself." She grumbled with a twitching eyebrow. "Now can I please have my mask back?" The red head asked grouchily with an outstretched arm.

The silver haired man looked on in faux confusion before a look of realisation followed.

"Ah, almost forgot I had it." His visible eye crinkled into what looked like a smile while passing it to her. "Genin hmm, so you passed did you?"

The girl seemed to visibly brighten at the mention of her success.

"Yup, rookie of the year to boot, but you expected that didn't ya?" She remarked with a grin.

Kakashi chuckled.

"Well your ninjutsu is good but you have always been kind of slow…" He trailed off as Naruko glared at him. "Ah, but I have yet to get you anything for passing…"

The girl hummed in thought. Grabbing the older man's sleeve, she tugged him along as she made her way through the crowd.

"You're buying me sweets…lots of them."

As Kakashi let himself be pulled along he saw a small boy wearing a Kitsune mask, what stood out to him however was the shaggy blonde hair poking out the back of it. Finding the real reason he had been sent out for, he brought himself to a stop. As Naruko turned to him he quickly pointed.

"See that stall, go wait there for me, I'll be back in a bit." Not waiting for her confirmation, the silver haired ninja vanished from sight.

"H-hey! Kakashi!"

 **123456**

Naruto walked the main street slowly, eyeing every attraction in glee. His hand gently jingled the coins in his pocket as he contemplated what exactly he was going to spend them on. The money was a birthday gift from Fukuro, one of the carers at the orphanage. Though the orphanage didn't usually go out of its way to provide the children with more than the bare necessities and a basic education, birthdays were an exception. Luckily for Naruto, his birthday just so _happened_ to be on the date of a certain festival. But speaking of presents, there was one other person who he received them from. A hand being placed on his shoulder garnered his attention.

"Yo." It was the silver haired man, the Hokage usually sent him in his stead. He had trouble remembering his name however.

"Ah hi…" The boy trailed off.

"You forgot it again didn't you." Kakashi deadpanned. It wasn't a question. "Well whatever, happy birthday kid. From Hokage-sama of course." The man handed over a small envelope. Naruto grinned behind his mask as he tucked away the present for safe keeping, he'd open it later.

"Thanks mister!" Whether or not it was intentional, the jab at not knowing his name just further annoyed the ninja. He'd meet with the kid on several occasions, his memory retention was horrible. It was almost enough to make him rethink what he was about to do. Almost. With a slightly strained smile he placed a few coins into Naruto's hand.

"..And from me. But don't mention it, I mean it, people will think I'm going soft."

As Naruto looked down his eyes widened, that was a lot of ryo.

"Than-" He stopped mid thanks as he realised the elder man was no longer present. Frowning, as he moved the coins from his hand to his pocket he found a slip of paper hidden between them.

' _It's Kakashi.'_

He chuckled.

"Thanks Kakashi."

 **123456**

Kakashi's thoughts turned to the young Jinchuriki. He knew what was in the envelope; it wasn't exactly a birthday present so he had to appease him with something of value at the very least. Whether it was to tighten the boys relationship to the village more, or just for the boys sake… he didn't know which he did it for. He didn't have any obligation outside of securing a weapons loyalty… But he could say this with confidence; he did like the boy.

"You took your time."

Inwardly he rolled his eyes; he'd been five minutes top. Deciding to annoy the girl he sent her a blank stare.

"You say something?"

 **123456**

It was later into the night when Naruto found himself on his last 100 ryo. He almost felt bad that he hadn't managed to save any for another time, but his stomach wasn't complaining. The quality and variety of the food at the festival was just _sooo_ much better than at the orphanage. With little time left until curfew he decided to end his night off with a game. Spotting a dart throwing stall he made his way over. Reading the sign it went into details.

'-50 ryo for 2 throws.

-100 ryo for 5.

-Earn a prize for each dart that hits a bullseye.

\- No ninjas allowed. '

The last rule was a common one among most of the game stalls, as ninja had a rather hefty advantage for the majority of them. Naruto entered to find two dark haired boys occupied the store. An older and younger brother if he guessed. The smaller one turned and looked at Naruto as he walked in behind them to wait. The elder brother poked him in the head eliciting a yelp.

"Focus Sasuke." The taller one spoke. The younger boy grumbled at this, renewing his concentration on the target in front of him. He had two darts left and three were already imprinted on the board, very close to the bullseyes. A whistle, a thud and then a muttered curse, the boy had missed again, but he was inching his way closer…surely the next one would find its target.

THUD.

Sasuke's face fell as he had missed by half an inch. Instant disappointment clear upon his features. His brother merely sighed.

"Tough luck kid, you were real close though, maybe if you bought another round…?" The stall owner tempted.

The elder brother quickly waved his hand in dismissal.

"We have no more money, come along Sasuke."

Before Naruto could help himself he was calling out to them.

"Wait, I could pay for you." It wasn't just an act of kindness, well kind of, but the raven haired boy had looked so sad. Not only that, he was really good at it! He knew if he threw the darts himself it would just be money going to waste… but this boy… and if it made him happier well…

The elder brother was quick to refute.

"Ah, we couldn't take your money."

"But he is really good, I wanna see him win!" He said, pointing to Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened, he didn't know who this kid in the fox mask was but he liked him already.

"Please nii-san!" He pleaded.

Itachi looked between the two kids before refocusing on Naruto.

"You're sure?"

"I'd probably just miss all 5 anyways." He chuckled.

"You have my thanks then, Sasuke, what do you say?"

"T-Thank you!"

Naruto turned to the stall man and placed his 100 ryo.

"5 darts for him please." The blonde spoke as he motioned to Sasuke. His eyes wandered to the clock hung above the counter. He remained glued to the spot staring until the time registered. It was 8:56; he had 4 minutes until curfew.

"Ah! I've got to go or I'll be late, good luck!" Naruto promptly left the stall in a sprint.

Sasuke, slightly startled, yelled out after him.

"Hey, where are you going?"

He received a distant reply.

"You better win!"

 **123456**

Naruto cursed, he was already late and it would take him at least another 10 minutes to get back home. Birthday or not, they weren't going to be happy.

"You seem to be in a hurry." Naruto jumped out of his skin as a voice came from right beside him. Turning around sharply he noticed it was the older boy from the stall. How he caught up to him he didn't know, he must've been a shinobi.

"You…what are you doing here?"

Itachi gave a small smile before raising a necklace with a leaf symbol on it.

"He won."

"Oh uh that's great! But why do you have the prize…?" Naruto asked confused.

"It's yours to keep." He offered. "He insisted."

"R-really? Wow uh, thanks?" He took the gift timidly; he wasn't used to people showing him kindness.

"He did hit all 5 after all, if anything I should've taken another two off of him." The way he said that made Naruto realise that the younger boy probably did _not_ insist. But he'd take it anyway of course!

"All 5, I knew he was good but that's awesome!"

Itachi mentally smirked. Of course, he had trained him after all.

"You said something about running late?" The elder boy enquired with a neutral expression.

"Oh, right! If I'm any later the old ladies at the orphanage are gonna' get really angry. I gotta' get going!"

Before the boy could work himself up anymore, Itachi stilled him and gathered his chakra. With a small usage of energy they were gone, only to reappear outside Saruki Orphanage. An elderly who was waiting inside came out to greet them.

"Shinobi-san, what trouble has he caused this time?" She asked with a bow. Itachi merely raised a hand in gesture. It was always disconcerting when people older than him showed such respect. He was barely into his teens.

"None, I was merely escorting him home." The woman gained a look of relief at that.

"Then you have my thanks, come now Naruto, you're late as it is." With a slight nudge from Itachi, Naruto went on his way.

"Thanks for the lift!" Naruto called back cheerily. A small wave was issued in return as Itachi watched as they went inside.

"Hey Fukurou-baachan, I still have my mask on, how'd you know it was me?" Itachi heard from beyond the door.

"Who else has blonde hair Naruto-kun?"

 **123456**

As Naruto climbed into his bed he recalled the present he'd received from Ka…something. The silver haired man. Reaching into his pocket he retrieved the envelope and opened it. It was a paper with writing on it aptly discerned. Unable to make out the writing in the darkness he moved over to the window to capture some of the moons gaze. Whilst his reading comprehension skills could use a lot of work, the illuminated words "Ninja Academy Invitation" told him all he needed to know. A large grin broke onto his visage.

A/N:

Hey, been a few years or something. So like most people I started writing fanfiction at a young age. Suprisingly I had a decent following and a few of my stories cracked 100k views with upwards of 500 follows. Anyways I fell out of interest writing mainly because as I matured I felt I couldn't continue off of the stories I had written because I cringed everytime I looked at them. This was pretty much the thing that bought my writing to a stop all together and I have since removed everything I had written and changed my username. Anyways it has been awhile since then and I've been feeling in the mood to write more and more recently. So I decided to rewrite an old story of mine by the name "Red and yellow". I probably won't do pairings and I'm aiming to have a proper story line. Frankly this is just to test the waters. It's been a very long time since I've written anything. This is introductory and I will have longer chapters in future. Regards.

MT


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